CoLu Week 2018
by Therashae
Summary: CoLu Week 2018! Because we all love Cobra even though he is... himself. Actually why do we love Cobra? Seriously...
1. CoLu Week Announcment

**CoLu Week 2018 June 17th - 24th**

Day 1: Defect - A conversation between Cobra, Lucy, and the author.

Day 2: Water - Cobra finds Lucy alone after Tartaros, during the year gap.

Day 3: Invite - Fairy Tail offers second chances after Nirvana.

Day 4: Pyramid - High school AU.

Day 5:Delirious - Dragon Mate fic. Post Alvarez. (M)

Day 6: Pilot - In which the dragon slayer Lucy meets in Hargeon is not Natsu.

Day 7: Staff - Nirvana following Day 6.

Bonus: Dance - Conclusion of Days 6 and 7. (M)

CoLu week 2018 has been announced. My readers know I adore the cuddly toxic ball of sarcasm that is Cobra. Big shout out to Dragonshost for hosting this week! These will be rated M because, well, Cobra. Sarcasm, cursing, violence, lemons, and general inapropriateness will ensue.

Disclaimer. Fairy Tail is awesome. Cobra and Lucy are awesome. So are all their friends, enemies, relatives, and acquaintances. I am not responsible for their awesomeness because I am not Hiro Mashima.


	2. Day 1 Defect

**CoLu Week Day 1: Defect**

 **Defect**

Synonyms: blemish, imperfection, glitch, flaw, irregularity, scar, weak point, infirmity, failing, stain.

Antonyms: perfection, advantage, blank, cleanliness, correctness, accuracy, success, sufficiency, strength, truth.

 **XxXxXxXxX**

Therashae: The story that should be posted here, you know, day one, the day that is supposed to come first, is refusing to click. (Author slaps story across the face, then shakes it violently by its shirt while screaming obscenities.) It says 'defect' and that's it. It's... It's... defective!

Cobra: What the hell are you doing?

T: Nothing. (Author shoves 'story' behind her back.)

C: That isn't nothing.

T: I'm the author, so if I say it's nothing that is exactly what it is.

Lucy: Why does Juvia's Gray doll have a piece of paper taped to its head that says 'defect story' and how did you get it out of her room?

T: Umm... (Author looks from now empty hands up to Lucy and back again.) I don't know?

C: She is pretending it is her story just so she can be violent with it.

L: Isn't defect a CoLu Week prompt? Why are you using a Gray doll if the story is about us?

T: It was there?

L: What is your problem with Gray anyway? He's kinda an asshole in your stories.

T: I don't know! I like him as a character, but I just can't write him as a nice guy.

L: Ok. So why are you mad at your story?

T: It won't cooperate. (Author collapses dramatically into previously nonexistent chair.)

L: Well what ideas did you try?

T: First I toyed with the idea of you telling Cobra that being perfect was boring. I also tried 'Accepting something as perfection leaves no room for improvement' but that had no story behind it. I tried chopping off your limbs...

L: Why would you do that!

T: ...and Cobra's limbs.

C: What is wrong with you?

T: I tried turning each of you into defective robots. I thought I had it when I turned you both into a single artificially intelligent entity with a split personality but...

C: You put us both in the same body? How would we have sex?

T: Actually you didn't have a body.

C: That's even worse!

L: Did you try making Cobra infertile? (Cobra gapes at Lucy.)

T: He doesn't like me enough to let me do that.

L: How about making me infertile? (Cobra growls at author.)

T: I repeat. He doesn't like me enough to let me do that. (Cobra continues to growl.) (Lucy crawls into Cobra's lap [Don't ask when He started sitting or where the chair came from.] and starts rubbing his ears.) (Cobra starts purring.)

L: What about...

C: Nope. To much personal shit for her to write that. Give her a couple years.

L: Then...

C: No! That one too, and besides I would never do that! What the fuck is wrong with you two?

T: Fairy Tail wizards, Cobra.

L: Actually, Therashae, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you aren't a Fairy Tail wizard.

T: I am if I write that I am.

C: It doesn't actually work that way. (Author pouts.)

L: Were there any other ideas you tried?

T: I tried breaking your washing machine...

C: You were going to make me a fucking repairman! That's worse than cutting off my arm!

T: And I tried having Cobra make a complaint call.

C: Well that sounds boring as hell.

T: I know! I could give Lucy selective amnesia so she forgets all the bad stuff people do to her!

C: No.

T: Why not?

C: Because that's pathetic as shit that's why.

L: And Cobra would totally take advantage of it.

C: Says who!

T: Everybody. You guys are right. That wouldn't work.

L: How about you tell us how you came up with your other submissions for CoLu Week this year.

C: Start with the first one you wrote.

T: Day 4. When I saw the word pyramid it just popped into my head.

C: What's it about?

T: Cheerleaders, a joint, and the bleachers.

C: What the fuck does any of that have to do with Fairy Tail?

L: It's an AU, Cobra.

C: Well F you, AU. (Lucy and author both roll their eyes.)

L: What came next?

T: Next I scratched down ideas for days 2 and 3. I actually finished day 6 next though.

L: Weren't you super stuck on that one too though?

T: Yeah. I kept trying to put a plane into the story. You two almost ended up doing a Tarzan and Jane thing after I pushed Lucy out of her little bush plane.

L: Please tell me you didn't do anything like that.

T: Nope. Instead I rewrote the pilot episode of Fairy Tail!

C: But I'm not...Oh. I like it.

T: I know, right! And it gave me the perfect entry into day 7 too, so I linked them!

C: Would have saved that version of me a lot of trouble if you had just fixed the problem during the pilot prompt.

T: Clodoa gave me an in so I took it. Besides I thought it was awesome!

L: I'm lost.

T: Then read the story silly.

L: But you won't post it until Friday!

T: I think it's worth the wait myself.

L: Fine. What did you write next?

T: Day 6 and Day 7 flowed into the Bonus day so I wrapped those up together before going back and writing day 5.

C: So you wrote the whole week backwards?

T: Pretty much.

L: What is Day 5 about?

T: The delirious prompt is a dragon mates fic in which Cobra is a stubborn asshole.

C: I'm always a stubborn asshole.

T: You were especially stubborn on the day in question.

L: You wrote day 4 first so what about Day 3?

T: Remember how Makarov invited Gajeel to join Fairy Tail after Phantom Lord was defeated? It's kinda like that. I was a little mean to Natsu in that one.

L: Why?

C: Because he is an idiot.

L: Natsu is my best friend!

C: He's still an idiot.

T: Anyway! Day 2 is set during the year gap. Water just had to be associated with Aquarius. Sorry Lucy. I know that's a sore subject for you.

L: It's your story so I'm sure I'll be fine. Did talking about all that help your defect problem?

T: Not at all.

L: Well phooey.

T: Maybe I'll just transpose this conversation into script form and use it as my story. Then if I come up with a real defect story I can post it as a super bonus day.

L: You've been recording this!

C: That's weird.

T: It's my fucking mindscape you idiots! You know what, go away!

C: Nah. I'll stay for the show.

T: What show?

Juvia: What have you done to Juvia's beloved?

T: How did you get in here?

Gray: What is your problem with me? I want answers!

T: I don't know!

Natsu: Why is there a defective sign on Gray's face?

T: That's not what it says!

J: Water Slicer!

T: Protective Barrier of Tortured Souls! (Glowing purple dome appears around author. If you look closely you can see faces in the light.)

G: Since when are you a wizard? And what the hell kind of creepy spell is that?

T: Since I'm the all powerful author that's when! And I created this spell myself. It's awesome because it's dramatic.

N: Great, let's fight! (Author screams in terror.)

L: Natsu, stop that right now! (Cobra laughs maniacally, like a chicken.)

XXxXxXxXxX

Till Tomorrow


	3. Day 2 Water

**CoLu Week Day 2: Water**

 **Water** is often associated with cleanliness, purity, and life.

XxXxXxXxX

Lucy was enjoying a moment of peace. The clear water in the perfect little swimming hole she had discovered was cooling and refreshing to her travel weary limbs. The sun still beat down on her, but surrounded with water as she was it was just warming on her face instead of blistering. Birds were singing in the trees and she could smell flowers on the breeze. If she wasn't so comfortable she would get up and go look for them. Maybe later. For now she was just going to float here and enjoy the peace.

XxXxXxXxX

Cobra was following a smell. It was delicious and intoxicating. He couldn't figure out what it was, but it smelled so familiar. He was pretty sure he had smelled this before, but he couldn't quite place it. There were flowers and water and trees, just general nature smells, but this one was different. It was a magical smell that reminded him of his family, though he couldn't say why. There was a drive deep inside him to find where the smell was coming from, so he followed it.

XxXxXxXxX

She should take this opportunity to practice her new magic. Aquarius would be furious if she let her gift go to waste. She would have loved this pretty little swimming hole, so it was the perfect place to start practicing. She found a large rock in the middle of the pool that left her standing knee deep in the clear water. She thought back to how Juvia used her water magic and took a similar stance. The mark across her collarbones began to glow as she pulled at her new magic.

XxXxXxXxX

The smell changed. The intoxicating warm-fruit-magic smell was still there, but now it was overlaid with a stronger water smell, magical water. Had whoever he had been following been joined by a water wizard? No, it wasn't two different smells like two different people would put off. He was close enough to hear the music of a single soul now, so there was still only one person. Why had the smell changed?

XxXxXxXxX

Lucy felt tears escape her eyes as she ran her arms through the air in long graceful arcs. The water following her fingertips sparkled in the sunlight. It was beautiful, but it didn't actually do anything yet. This would be so much more effective if she could learn from an element wielding caster mage. Aquarius or Juvia would be best, though any number of other people could teach her. Max, even Laxus, Evergreen maybe with her fairy sparkle magic, Gray,... Natsu... Her tears hit the water.

XxXxXxXxX

He smelled tears. The thought of the warm-fruit-magic person crying bothered him. That was odd. Touchy-feel-me must be rubbing off on him. Regardless of the reason and the why of it all he wanted to poison whatever had made the warm-fruit-magic person with the drunken music box soul cry. Yes. Killing something would make him feel better and make the tears stop.

XxXxXxXxX

Lucy held her hands in front of her and thought of Juvia. How did she move when attacking? How did the water respond? This wasn't her magic, but it was similar. She had seen this spell hundreds of times. Surely she could reproduce it. She quickly made a broad slashing motion with her hands.

XxXxXxXxX

Cobra finally heard words from the soul he was following, the memory of someone else shouting. _Water Slicer! ...Slicer... Water... licer... ater sli... Water Slicer!_ Then a splash, a startled female shriek, and a louder splash. Then he heard a woman laughing.

XxXxXxXxX

Lucy smiled as she pulled herself out of the water and back onto her rock. That had absolutely not been the Water Slicer spell Juvia used. Of course the fact that she hadn't called out the incantation might have had something to do with that. She had expected a failed water spell to melt back into the swimming hole more than explode in her face. Exploding water was a new one that she could absolutely work with though. She was still smiling as she took her stance again.

XxXxXxXxX

The drunken music box soul sounded happy. He could hear laughter as it thought to itself. _Juvia's water never explodes. It's always elegant, like her. Dance with the water. Be the water._ Juvia. He knew that name. Why did he know that name? _I can do this. I can. Aquarius._ He heard another memory. _Stupid brat!_ The music box twanged, like it had a broken note.

XxXxXxXxX

Aquarius was loud, brash, and volatile. Maybe that was why Juvia's elegant, precise spell hadn't worked. Maybe she needed a spell that fit Aquarius's temperament Something smaller than her go to drown-the-whole-damn-town-especially-the-brat move. Something that would be flashy enough that if her team ever came home they would be impressed by it. Lucy grinned. She could do loud.

XxXxXxXxX

"Water Explosion!" This time the splash had a concussive quality to it. He was close enough to feel the air pressure change minutely. He had his hands over his ears, having heard the _loud_ idea in time to protect himself. "Fuck yes! Take that you stupid tree! Your days of tyranny over the defenseless saplings around you have come to an end!" He snickered and stopped walking. If he got any closer he might be noticed and he hadn't decided if he wanted that yet. "Pray to whatever deity you serve for mercy, Tree, for you shall find none at my hand. Water Explosion!"

XxXxXxXxX

She was not Juvia and neither was Aquarius, so why she had tried to imitate the Rain Woman's magic she had no idea. She wanted a few skills with finesse though, so she would set aside her Water Explosion now that she had figured it out. She would practice being one with the water to gain control. Powerful like Aquarius and elegant like Juvia.

XxXxXxXxX

His guild knew this woman, he was sure of it. Every time she thought of this Juvia person he heard an echo of Touchy-feel-me saying the same name. Angel had spoke of Aquarius before too. Was she a spirit? He couldn't remember. His guildmate's celestial spirit days were long past. Speaking of the past, and considering how dark theirs was, it could be a very bad thing that his guild knew her. If they knew her, chances were she knew them too.

XxXxXxXxX

Dancing was the epitome of elegance. She had learned ballroom dancing and some ballet when she was young, so she used her knowledge of those as she twisted and turned atop her rock. She closed her eyes and focused on the water as she moved. The smell of it hanging in the air, the feel of it as it lapped at her legs. She listened to the sound of the stream that fed the little oasis. She breathed in the air it had cooled. She danced with the water.

XxXxXxXxX

Cobra wanted to watch this instead of just listening. He snuck closer on near silent feet to survey the little swimming hole this familiar smelling water mage had chosen to practice her 'new' magic in. On the far side of the glorified puddle was the splintered remains of what had been a good sized tree. He ignored it in favor of the blond twisting in the middle of the water, surrounded by long ribbons of water and looking decidedly like a nymph. She was vaguely familiar and entirely enchanting. He leaned against one of the remaining trees and just watched.

XxXxXxXxX

Lucy's you-are-about-to-get-kidnapped-for-some-stupid-as-shit-plot-or-other radar pinged. She had been through to much and met to many evil villains face to face to ignore it for even a millisecond. She froze and snapped her eyes open. Right there in front of her, making himself all kinds of at home in her private little water eden was Cobra of the Oracion Seis. She thought he was still in prison, er, again. She was so about to get kidnapped.

XxXxXxXxX

Shit. He knew those big, brown, drown-in-me eyes. It was the water magic that had thrown him off. It changed her scent. She had been freaked the fuck out every other time he had seen her and it changed how her soul sounded too. This was Lucy Heartfilia, kicker of Angel's ass with a lost celestial spell, holder of ten out of the twelve zodiac keys, kicker of Midnight's ass with his own damn spell, caller of the Spirit King. This chick was very much at the top of the Ex-Seis's you-really-shouldn't-have-done-that-shit list.

XxXxXxXxX

"I'm not here to hurt you." Yeah, she wasn't about to believe that shit. The whole swimming hole started to swirl, probably in response to her emotions since she was still tapping into Aquarius's power. "I'm a lot of things, but a liar ain't one of them." She couldn't specifically remember him lying, but you never could tell with bad guys. "I walk in the shadows and all that dramatic shit now, with Crime Sorciere. I'm not about to add to my sins by hurting you again."

XxXxXxXxX

 _Crime Sorciere? Jellal and Meredy. Erza..._ There was that broken twang in her drunken music box soul again, like when she thought of Aquarius. "Oh." _Well ok then. Does that make him an ally or a frenemy or something? Does it even fucking matter anymore?_ "And your friends? Are they with Crime Sorciere too?"

XxXxXxXxX

"They are my family. With all the shit we've been through we can't be anything less. As much as I'd sometimes like to get rid of them they're still around." Her soul hit several broken notes and began to wail. _Family. Cobra is from a dark guild and tried to destroy the world, not once but twice, and he still understands. You never abandon family._ What had happened? Fairy Tail was her family right? Where was her team anyway? Where was her family?

XxXxXxXxX

"I'm happy for you." She splashed off her rock and waded toward shore. If Jellal and Meredy had seen enough light in those lost people to think them worth saving she was very glad they got this chance. Everybody deserved a second chance. The thought of Gajeel as he had walked away from Magnolia, Levy and Pantherlily in tow, caused her heart to break a little. "I've had several friends who made poor choices that sent them down dark paths. Seeing people get a chance to live for a better future makes me really happy."

XxXxXxXxX

He heard memories. Gajeel and Juvia were previously of Phantom Lord. The Thunder Legion, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen, embracing the Fairy Tail spirit after a shit storm she thought of as The Battle of Fairy Tail. Meeting Lyon and Sherry again as allies after originally meeting as enemies. Someone named Laxus, who had tried to destroy them all with one of the Fairies own spells, standing between them and Master Hades. Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear helping them with their first successful Grand Magic Games. Yukino and the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth fighting beside them to protect the world. There was an obviously insane redhead named Flare. Then she hoped that Cobra and his family would someday be some of those people. He smiled a little when he heard that.

XxXxXxXxX

Cobra had a sexy smile. Who knew? Maybe she had just been hit in the head one to many times during a guild brawl. She intentionally turned away from thoughts of her guild. If Cobra was throwing sexy smiles at her and she was liking it, next thing you know Midnight would start adopting puppies. Cobra started chuckling. "He's more of a cat person really. Less playing and more cuddling." He could hear thoughts. She slapped both hands over her face. "I forgot you could do that." She peeked through her fingers. The sexy smile was back.

XxXxXxXxX

She was cute. In a dangerous, and presumably unstable because she was a Fairy, kind of way. Like a squirrel, with rabies, just waiting for the trigger that would set her off. The part of him that loved to cause trouble wanted to push her buttons until he found that trigger. He had a feeling she would be hot as fuck when she was angry. For now though he was content to watch the blush grow on her cheeks and enjoy her cuteness.

XxXxXxXxX

He could hear her. She was mortified. He had only responded to the thought about Midnight and puppies, but that had been sandwiched between thoughts about his sexiness. Lucy had never been more embarrassed in her life. Bar the flying naked through Crocus thing, and the thing where her guildmates randomly showed up at her house while she was bathing, and... Oh fuck it. Her entire life was just one long embarrassing moment. He was snickering again. Shit. He heard that too.

XxXxXxXxX

Where was her team? While she could probably take care of herself just fine she shouldn't be alone. Between her magic and her boobs she was a prime candidate for kidnapping. She was a treasure that should be protected at all times. She should be with Natsu, with her team.

XxXxXxXxX

"How about we talk about something else?" Anything else besides her naked or how sexy he was. He snorted at her. "Like what?" "How about what you are doing alone in the middle of nowhere?" " _You_ want to ask _me_ that question?" She nodded. "Well, if you must know good snake venom can only be found in certain black market shops. I was taking a weekend shopping trip." That made sense. "My turn. You are alone too. How about we talk about that?"

XxXxXxXxX

Her soul wailed. He heard the memory of a note. The way she imagined Natsu would have sounded if he actually spoke the words to her. ... _Take care of the guild while I'm gone..._ Then her Master's voice shouting in an angry tone. _Fairy Tail is no more and I don't want to hear that name spoken again!_ Gray's voice, all but monotonous. _I've got things I need to take care of._ And Erza. _I think I will go look for Jellal. Be safe, Lucy._ "Fairy Tail is fucking _gone?_ What the hell were they all thinking, leaving you alone like that!" A tiny sob escaped her and her soul screamed in agony.

XxXxXxXxX

Lucy tried desperately not to cry. She couldn't help it though. He had said aloud what she had thought when her guild had shattered into a hundred pieces and blown away in the wind. They were her family. How could they leave her like that? She needed them right now. She had broken right along with Aquarius's key when she was forced to summon the Spirit King. When Cobra had gotten so close she didn't know, but he was there. When he touched her shoulder she threw herself into his arms without a second thought. She tried not to, but she ended up crying into his shirt anyway.

XxXxXxXxX

He wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried. He had never done something like this and it was probably a bad idea. She was just so alone and in such pain. He could hear it. He remembered how he had felt when he lost Cubelios. His friends had stood by him and supported him and he had still raged against the world and tried to destroy it in his pain. They had all been dealing with their own pain at the time and none of them knew how to cry or mourn, so they had just broken shit. This seemed to be a better way of dealing with pain and she wasn't the end the world type anyway, so he held her close.

XxXxXxXxX

"I'm, I'm s-sorry." She gasped between sobs. "Shh. It's ok. If you need this then my shirt can handle it. Beats throwing the entire world into an eternal nightmare right?" She gave a watery laugh. "I guess so. Kinana went with Laki and Max by the way, to Onibus I think. They will keep her safe." He tensed. "You know about that?" "Most of us do at this point. Sorry if you didn't want us to know."

XxXxXxXxX

 _He was probably worried that we would hurt her. We never would, but I can see why he might think that._ He relaxed a little. "I'm glad she is with friends. She's a good kid and deserves the chance to live her life to its fullest." "She is. We..." _There is no we anymore. Just me._ "I really like her. She has a big heart and a quirky sense of humor." He chuckled as he remembered the practical jokes Cubelios managed to pull even without hands. She was probably a force to be reckoned with now. "She worries about her Prince Erik you know."

XxXxXxXxX

He laughed. The Prince Erik thing had been a joke when he was still a scared little kid in the Tower. "Figures she would remember that. She shouldn't be worrying about me though. I'll be fine." "Have you told her that though? I know you can't really waltz into Onibus and give her a hug on the street, but maybe you can send her a letter." "Because every girl wants a wanted criminal for a pen-pal." "Oh, I don't know. I bet you have good stories about all the crazy shit you hear." He laughed again.

XxXxXxXxX

"Come With me, Squirrel." "I'm not a squirrel and why should I?" For whatever reason the idea appealed to her, but why would he ask? "Yes you are. Because you shouldn't be alone. It's not good for you. That and if She-Thor manages to find Jailer Blueballs we will need you to protect us from her cake fetish." She couldn't help but laugh. "Do you call him that to his face?" "Fuck yes, I do. I've never been one to mince words or avoid a sensitive subject. For example, you seem pretty comfortable in my arms and I like you there." She blushed. She couldn't deny that since she was still tucked against his chest. "Exactly. So come with me."

XxXxXxXxX

Her drunken music box song seemed to have a little more pluck to it now. He couldn't hear thoughts, but she seemed to be listening to something inside herself. Maybe she was just feeling. She seemed to follow her heart more than her head most of the time. He liked that. The thought had surprised him, but he really did want her to come with him. _Ok._ She smiled. "I'll come with you. At least for now. We'll see where it goes." "Sounds good to me, Squirrel." "Not a squirrel." She argued, but her song gave an extra little happy ping.

XxXxXxXxX

Till Tomorrow


	4. Day 3 Invite

**CoLu Week Day 3: Invite**

 **Invite**

Synonyms: entice, propose, lead, draw, lure, insist, attract, beg, command, appeal to.

Antonyms: reject, refuse,repel, stop, prevent, oppose, ignore, dissuade, disenchant, dissaprove.

 **XxXxXxXxX**

He had been betrayed. Cast out. Rejected. Abandoned. The people he had accepted and protected as family had all turned on him or dissapeared without a trace. They had all been defeated, one at a time, even Cobra himself, but he had picked himself up again and kept fighting. Until that moment when Brain, the man he had followed with unfailing loyalty, literally shot him in the back. He had called him useless, a weakling, and cast him aside for an idiot who had literally been lying at his feet at deaths door. He would have won that fight in the end if the man who had taken on the roll of father figure for them, all those years ago, hadn't turned on him. Cobra would get him for this, one day. He would find him and the traitor would see his own liver before he died.

Racer had run, that was to be expected, but he hadn't come back. Midnight had vanished. He hadn't heard a sound from him since he lost his fight with the man Brain had claimed was their ally and the apparently unkillable woman Cobra had poisoned during their first encounter with the light guild coalition. Nirvana had gotten to Hoteye, so he couldn't blame him. Especially since he had turned himself over to the rune knights voluntarily and gotten locked up for his effort.

His brothers were alive, he knew, because when the rune knights poured over Nirvana they hadn't found anything. No bodies or captives for them and no news for Cobra other than confirmation of Hoteye's arrest. Angel he still worried about. She had been the first of them to go down. Defeated by her own kind and her keys taken. When he last heard her she was being swept down river. He held onto the hope that she was still alive, but if she was she still hadn't come back looking for him.

Cubelios had dragged him to a dark corner to hide when the rune knights got close to where he had been laying, bleeding, injured, and devestated. She was the only reason he had escaped. At the time he hadn't had the will to run or the ability to do so if he had wanted to. Three days now that's the way it had been. Lurking in the shadows, moving only when they had to and always further from Nirvana, and always searching, looking, listening for any sign of the rest of the Seis.

Now he was utterly alone. Cubelios had finally been forced away to hunt. A snake her size didn't eat often, but she had to eat large meals when she did. Eating made her slow and sleepy. They had put it off almost a week during their final search for Nirvana in anticipation of a fight. He didnt blame her for needing to eat because that would be stupid. He wasn't happy about being alone though. It didn't help that his fight with the fire slayer had fucked his hearing all to shit and he couldn't hear her.

He could still use his magical hearing, but it hurt like a bitch when he did because his ears, both physical and magical, weren't healing. Apparently his body thought the potentially fatal wound Brain had given him took precidence. He was of the opinion that his body was stupid as shit, because he would rather be hovering on the edge of death and be able to fucking hear. He was vulnerable without his hearing and he hated it.

While he would have loved to rant and rave and poison the local flora and fauna untill they never recovered, his body wasn't up to it. Poison would have helped, but after so long not eating, coupled with the fighting, Cubelios just wasn't able to produce any more venom. So instead of throwing the destructive toddler fit he wanted to he was laying in the middle of a clearing soaking up sunshine and meditating when they found him.

"Told ya I could find him, Luce!" Cobra had rolled into a fighting crouch before third word was spoken. He knew that voice. The fire slayer was bad news for him, and he brought company this time. Company who promptly slapped her partner in the back of the head. What the hell? He thought light guilds were all about faking peace and harmony with eachother.

"Magical hearing, Natsu." The blond hissed. He knew this chick. The celestial wizard who beat Angel. "Stop yelling or you will hurt his ears again." The idiot slayer rubbed the back of his head and pouted at her.

"Sorry, Luce." The blond rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one with magically enhanced hearing." The pink haired boy turned to him and grinned.

"Sorry man. I forgot." What the hell was going on? Cobra gently pushed magic into his ears, trying not to wince when the pain hit. "Hey where's your snake friend?" The comment broke his concentration causing him to lose the hearing spell. Cobra growled.

"I'm not letting you hurt Cubelios." The blond slapped the fire slayer again. What was wrong with these people? Why were they here?

"Sit down and shut up, Natsu. You are not helping. Remember what Sawyer said?" Sawyer? Racer? They had captured Racer? How did they know his real name? What did they do to him?

"Yeah, yeah." Natsu sat. Right there. He didn't even set his back against a tree. There was no way he could properly defend himself like that. Cobra could easily take out him or the blond, maybe both, before he could stop him. "Something about sneezes and raisens. Why am I even here if I just have to sit here and listen to you talk?" How in the hell had he lost to this guy?

"Sneezes and raisens? Mavis! Can you be any more of an idiot? He didn't say anything about either one of those things!" The blond slapped a hand to her face as if she was in pain. "You are here because slayers have heightened senses and I needed your help to find him, and so he wouldn't just kill me on sight!" Why was this chick looking for him in the first place? He thought the rune knights had given up their search.

"I'm hungry." She gave her companion a dark look that sent a shiver up even Cobra's spine.

"Shut up so I can have this conversation and we can go home then."

"Aye Sir." The pinkette scooted away from the girl. Cobra sank deeper into his crouch. They were far enough away from eachother for him to end this fight in just two strikes, even without his hearing. Then he heard the fire wizard mumble. "Scary Lucy." If this guy was afraid of her was she a bigger threat than they had anticipated? Had she been faking it when she almost lost to Angel?

"Hi, Cobra. I'm Lucy. I guess you already know that though. Maybe I should start by telling you Sawyer and Midnight are both safe." Midnight too? What were they planning? What were they going to do to his friends? "We managed to get to them before Captain Stick-up-his-ass did, though I can't say the same for Richard I'm afraid. You don't know Levy, but she is brilliant and she is working with Lamia Scale to find a way to get him out. Jellal too, but I don't know how well that will work out." They were... helping Hoteye? Why? "Speaking of Richard. We found Wally, his brother, when we destroyed the Tower of Heaven."

"You destroyed it?" How? How did you even go about doing something like that?

"Yep. The magic Council shot it with the Etherion Cannon trying to prevent it from being used. Which was really stupid because it was designed to absorb huge amounts of power and turn into a giant lacrima, but they did it anyway. While Erza and Natsu were inside mind you, and that really ticks me off! Anyway. It blew up."

"I cracked it wide open and destroyed it you mean!"

"Natsu, does it really matter?"

"Yes! I'm awesome."

"Fine, moving on! Where was I?"

"You have Racer and Midnight."

"Right. Sawyer is lucky we got to keep Wendy otherwise we might have lost him. He tried to blow himself up. Please tell me you didn't hear thim make that plan? Because if so then this deal is off." What deal? They still hadn't told him why they were here.

"Why?" He hadn't heard and was going to kick Racer's ass for doing something that stupid, but why did it matter to them?

"Because family doesn't let eachother do that."

"True, but what does it matter to you?"

"As long as you understand the principle we are good. Moving on!" He never really said anything to answer her, but ok. "Sawyer has temporarily joined Team Shadowgear. The Thunder Legion has volunteered to host Midnight for rehabilitation purposes, though Erza is supervising because those three are still kinda in trouble." Rehabila... What!

"Happy thinks Freed and Beth have a thing going."

"Shut up, Natsu! You're the reason the poor guy won't use his real name around us, and it's not ok! You will call him Midnight until he gets over that whole 'Beth' thing, or Erza will _let_ him and the Thunder Legion do whatever they feel like to you while the rest of us sit back and laugh!" What in the world was going on here?

""Midnight is... You are protecting him?" She stared at him blankly.

"Yes?" Was that an answer or another fucking question? He was starting to think the only way he would be getting answers was by dealing with the pain in his ears. "Him and Sawyer both. I..." The blond turned and glared at Smoke for brains. "Natsu!"

"What!"

"You fucking broke him!"

"I didn't touch him!"

"Ugh!" She rolled her eyes. If he wasn't feeling so damn confused he might like this chick. She had attitude. "So I did the assume thing, confused you, made an ass out of me and Natsu." She kicked dirt in her partner's direction, who muttered again about Scary Lucy and scooted even further away. "Let's start over. I'll give you the speech Gramps gave to Midnight and you can ask me any questions that leaves you with."

"Let's start with a question first. Do you know where Angel is?" Everyone else he cared about he knew about now.

"I'm afraid not. Gajeel and Juvia headed downriver to look for her, but we haven't heard from them since we started looking for you. That was two days ago."

"Yeah, man! Every time we got close you up and moved again! Why couldn't you hold still and let us catch up?" The blond gave her partner an 'are you really that stupid' look. Cobra knew that look because Angel made it often and he could normally hear her think those exact words when she made that exact face.

"Natsu." Her voice was soft and sweet and terrifying. "I don't know how you can be such a genius when it comes to important things and such an idiot all the rest of the time, but I'm going to need you to shut up now."

"I agree with the Samodiva. Let the grownups talk."

"Samodiva huh?" The girls eyes sparked with life. "If I sing will you dance with me?" Oh, so she knew that legend.

"Only if I get fully rewarded for it and get to keep some of your hair afterward."

"I don't know if I want to keep you that badly."

"I'm not the type to die pining for a woman anyway."

"You're just a dance till dawn kind of guy?"

"Sounds like a fun way to go at least. I wouldn't stick around unless there was something more in it for me than a good time and a lock of golden hair."

"How about a home?" She seemed to have deviated from the old fairy tale at this point. "You can't fall under my spell if you are fae too, now can you?" His eyes widened as he finally understood what they had been talking about this whole time.

"You're..." He couldn't even finish the thought out loud because it was just that fucking insane.

"Fairy Tail is a guild full of people with tortured pasts who were given a second chance at life. We are offering you and your family that chance. Midnight and Sawyer plan to accept, though they are waiting to hear from you and Angel before they let Gramps put the Fairy Tail guild mark on them. The Strauss siblings have offered Angel a place in their home if Gajeel and Juvia can find her. Natsu and I are here to invite you and Cubelios to join Fairy Tail and be a part of our team. Once you prove to us that you are trustworthy the four of you, and Richard too if we can get him out, are free to form your own team, be solo mages, or even move on to another guild if you wish."

"We tried to kill you." He pointed at the pink haired slayer currently watching their interactions with a clearly confused look on his face. "He's an idiot, but I thought for sure you wouldn't have forgotten, Diva."

"You know I have a name, right?"

"Samodiva." She threw her hands in the air.

"What is with you slayers and refusing to use people's names?"

"Plural?" As in several? Not just him and Natsu?

"Natsu calls me Luce or Luigi, Laxus called me Blondie the few times we interacted before he was sent away, Gajeel calls me Bunny and Levy Shrimp, because he's an asshole. Wendy uses my real name though. Maybe it's just a guy thing..."

"Wait Gajeel?" The name clicked in his head when she said it this time. Phantom had done business with his guild, being practically a dark guild themselves. "As in Black Steel of Phantom Lord, Gajeel? Didn't Phantom go to war with you guys?"

"Black Steel, The Rain Woman, and Phantom Lord kidnaped me, tortured me, blew up our guildhall, almost killed several of my friends, including Gramps. Master Makarov offered them a second chance at life. Now Juvia and Gajeel are trusted friends of mine. They are Fairy Tail wizards. You can be too, if that's what you want."

The shock of what that meant had him sitting on the ground, hard. They were offering them sanctuary, safety, and a home. Fairy Tail was offering them a chance to be free, and all it would take was him accepting her invitation to be one of them. He pushed magic into his ears, ignoring the pain for just a moment, and focused on the blond in front of him.

 _I really hope he comes with us. It would be nice to have someone on missions who thinks quickly enough for me to banter with. I like him. He's funny and smart. The boys all seem like nice people. It's a shame we lost track of Zero-brains. That asshole needs a serious pounding for treating them like he did. Where does he get off attacking people who trust him? What the fuck?_

 _Cobra isn't looking to good. I mean he looks delicious, but he's in pretty bad shape. We need to get him to the backup squad so Wendy can patch up his back. I'm so glad Happy stayed with Carla and Pantherlily so I didn't have to deal with the little shithead this whole time. I bet Gray and Erza are about bored out of their minds by now. I hope Wendy can get his ears set right again. Natsu must have messed them up pretty bad for them to still be messed up._

"You have yourself a deal, Samodiva." Her smile just about lit up the whole clearing. "As soon as Cubelios comes back. We will go with you." He wasn't sure about the rest of the guild, but he liked Lucy. He'd stick around for a while just to listen to her.

"There's just one problem with that." Natsu piped up. Cobra tensed. There was always a catch. "Luce isn't quite fat enough to be a sumo-wrestler."

"Lucy Kick!" The catch was apparently Scary Lucy. He could live with that.

XxXxXxXxX

(AN: The Samodiva is a fairy type being that gaurds forests and typically has long golden hair. It is know for its literally enslaving song. If a man comes upon a group of them singing and dancing at night he will join them and dance until he dies of exaustion at dawn. A single Samodiva would sometimes take a man as her lover, stealing away his life force and giving him a lock of her golden hair to increase her control over him. The man would then chase after her until she stole the last of his life from him.)

Till Tomorrow


	5. Day 4 Pyramid

**CoLu Week Day 4: Pyramid**

The **Pyramid** is a stunt or catagory of stunts performed by cheerleaders

 **XxXxXxXxX**

Lucy Heartfilia was the golden girl of Magnolia High. There were multiple reasons for this and it was well known. Aside from the obvious golden hair she usually wore in little girl pigtails, there was the fact that she was absolutely beautiful, not to mention stacked, with straight A''s on her report card every semester, Captain of the Cheer Squad and Ace Volleyball player. Despite coming from big money the girl was not aloof or a snob, but was friends with everyone, and a large portion of the student body claimed her as their sister. She was also well known for rejecting every request for a date ever made. Male, female, undecided, or unchangeable.

An argument had been overheard at the senior's table after her rejection of one Laxus Dreyer, the varsity quarterback, in which Freed Justine had stated that she must, in fact, be asexual. This had sent her best female friend, Levy Mcgarden, whom everyone knew would be giving the valedictorian speech when their class graduated, into a hysterical laughing fit of epic proportions. Levy wasn't the only friend who had let it be known that the green haired genius was incorrect.

Those who did not know her were sometimes of the mistaken opinion that her single status was because she thought she was above the common highschool student. One such idiot had ranted quite loudly, after being sweetly but firmly rebuffed, that she was a cold hearted bitch in need of a good fuck to teach her she wasn't better than everyone else. Said idiot had left school that day in perfect health. He had next been seen in the Magnolia City Hospital ER where he had been admitted with several broken bones, including his right arm, two ribs, and left cheekbone, as well as a variety of lacerations and contusions, a concussion, and denying any memories between leaving school and waking up in the hospital.

The police and school had launched a thorough investigation. Alibis had been provided for all suspicious persons. Lucy as well as most of her friends had been engaged in extracurricular activities under the direct supervision of teachers and coaches at the time of the incident. The official police report chalked it up as a random mugging. The student body however firmly believed the idiot's hospital stay was a direct result of the insult, and possibly threat, to her person that day at school.

No specific person or group of persons was ever identified as the culprit. In fact everyone appeared to be completely innocent of the assault. When asked about it Lucy would simply roll her eyes, huff in an exasperated manner, and state that such an incident would not be repeated. From this response it was gathered that the only people who would ever know what really happened were Lucy and the obviously dangerous individual she apparently had a leash on. Whether the idiot was to afraid for his life to speak or actually had trauma induced amnesia was debatable.

It was Lisanna Straus who uncovered the mind boggling answer to both the Great Heartfilia Conundrum (as Lucy's relationship status was commonly called) and the Mugging Mystery. Lucy had organized a voluntary extra practice one Sunday afternoon to work on a pyramid stunt that the girls wanted to use in an upcoming Cheer competition. Most of the Squad were present that afternoon, but it was Lisanna who finally spoke the words most of them were thinking.

"I really wish they would leave. They are creeping me out staring like that."

"Huh?" Lucy turned to look at the group of people her friend was referring to. A handful of kids from their school were sitting on the bleachers. "We usually have an audience when we practice. What's different about today?"

"It's _them._ I mean..."

"Lucy, they are _smoking!"_ Jenny, one of the other cheerleaders, hissed under her breath, as if she might be overheard all the way across the football field. "And it's not a cigarette they are passing around either. They are doing drugs! On school property!"

"Nothin' wrong with a little catnip once in a while." Millianna was rolling around in the grass like her favorite mammal. "It's not like any of them play sports or anything, accept Racer and I saw him pass up that joint, and there aren't any teachers here today."

"Umm..." Beth Vanderwood spoke up in a timid southern draw. "I think yer missin' th' point, Milli. Ther's a gang o' thugs watchin' us! It's scary!"

"Good grief. They aren't thugs and they aren't a gang! So they fight a little. Big whoop So do all the rest of the guys at school." Lucy sat herself in the grass, knowing they weren't going to make any progress untll this issue was resolved. "I mean Levy is dating Gajeel. You don't think she would do that if he was that bad do you?"

"Yes! Juvia has been friends with Gajeel since Juvia was a baby and Juvia trusts him!"

"Bickslow is weird, but he isn't dangerous. He just loves to have fun. And you all know Erza would flip a lid if she heard you call Jellal creepy. Mopey sure, because that's a fact, but tattoos, piercings, and a skateboard don't make you an evil person you know."

"But..." Chelia raised her hand a little to draw attention to her question. "The Sies..."

"Ugh!" Lucy let herself fall flat on her back in the grass. "Is literally a club they made up when they were kids. Racer takes his athletic career to seriously to get into trouble. Angel and Flare are a little... different, but once you get to know them they are sweet. Midnight is a musicians. He plays in Mira's band with Gajeel. That just about gives him a good excuse for anything odd he does. It's an art thing."

"Yeah. Hugs and cuddles and fuzzy kittens." Kagura, ever the pessimist, rolled her eyes. "Next you will be telling us Cobra knits baby blankets in his spare time." Lucy giggled.

"I would never tell anyone that, even if he did, which he doesn't."

"He's so scary!" Wendy, their youngest, squeaked. "They say he lost his eye in a street fight. He killed the guy who did it with the same knife that cut his face!" Lucy let out a frustrated sigh.

"It was a violin string." There were horrified gasps from the other girls.

"He killed someone with a string?!"

"What? No! He was tuning his violin and the string snapped. That's how he lost his eye. It had nothing to do with brawls or knives or anything like that. At least not that time..."

"Not that time?" Lisanna was eyeing her Lucy suspiciously. "You seem to know an awful lot about these guys." Lucy blushed.

"Wait!" Wendy seemed to have forgotten her terror for a moment. "Cobra Dragao plays the violin?" There was a moment of profound silence before Jenny whispered.

"Really? He's still super scary, but I bet that would be sexy to watch." Lucy just grinned.

"So, Lucy," Lisanna was eager to steer the conversation back to where it had started. "You know so much about them, why are they here and can you make them leave?" Lucy groaned.

"They are here because they are overprotective pack animals and Erik won't accept that I can walk the 6 blocks home by myself without getting attacked." Lisanna looked over at the bleachers and counted. Two crazy girls, two tall bluenettes, two guys sporting the monochrome look, the shady trach star, and Cobra the Mag High bogeyman. Eight people, none of them named Erik. She opened her mouth to ask about it but wasn't able to beat out Chelia.

"You walk home all the time and you are fine. Why would someone attack you?"

"Remember that jerk who yelled at me a while back?"

"Th' one who got sent t' th' hospital?" Beth was the only one candid enough to say it.

"Yeah. He got out of the hospital this week." Gasps and cries of fear escaped the girls.

"Oh, Mavis!" Jenny sounded terrified. "Was he with _them_? Are they here for revenge?" Lucy picked her head up and stared at her as if she had suddenly started eating grass.

"No! On both counts. What is wrong with you people? Erik is afraid the idiot will still come after me again. I told him I was pretty sure he learned his lesson last time, but he is a paranoid bastard so he is walking me home, and the others didn't have anything better to do this afternoon so that's why they are here too. Because they are a pack of paranoid animals. It's ridiculous and complete overkill. It's not like Erik didn't keep me perfectly safe without their help last time..." Lisanna couldn't take it anymore. She slammed her hands on the ground and practically screamed.

"Who is Erik?" The girls all blinked at Lisanna, before turning to stare expectantly at Lucy, who blushed. They were so focused on their squad captain none of them noticed the approach of a legendarily dangerous maroon haired junior.

"Her boyfriend." Wendy almost passed out in terror. Cobra just looked down at Lucy with a remarkably blank expression. Jenny wasn't the only girl who released a betrayed wail.

"Lucy! You have a boyfriend? When did this happen? Who is it? Why did we not know? Where did you meet him?" Lisanna slapped a hand over Jenny's mouth and tried very hard not to act as afraid of Cobra as she was.

"How long have you had a boyfriend, Lucy?" Lucy blushed before she spoke in a voice so quiet it was almost a whisper.

"Almost two weeks..." Cobra snorted.

"Officially." Lisanna glanced at him and thought she might have seen the faintest hint of laughter in his eye. She let the wheels spin in her head for a moment.

"Lucy Heartfilia. How long have you and this Erik been romantically inclined toward each other?"

"Now that's a very good question, Airhead. Two points for you. Wanna answer Airhead's question, Goldilocks?" Lucy turned red and hid her face behind her hands. Cobra smirked. It was the kind of smirk that everyone at school said ment he was thinking about eviscerating someone. "Fourth grade. That's, what, six years for you, right babe?" Lucy squeaked and nodded behind her hands. Lisanna's anger over the way he was addressing her friend gave her the courage to glare at him. Not that she was happy about being called stupid herself. "Course you are still a year behind. Seven if you really count all the waiting. You know you aren't getting anything else done today, right?" Lucy nodded again and peeked through her fingers at the boy standing over her. Lisanna's jaw dropped when for a moment a real-life, honest-to-Mavis smile flashed across Cobra's face. She had never seen him look anything outside of the parameters of board-as-shit and pissed-the-hell-off. "Take your time. I'm good with waiting." He wandered back over to the Social misfit club laying all over the bleachers like discarded laundry.

Lisanna glanced between Lucy and Cobra a couple times before something clicked in her head. Six Years, seven years. She was a year behind. He was ok waiting. Cobra was a junior. Lucy was a sophomore. Lucy's 'Erik' had protected her from the idiot who had apparently been stupid enough come after her and was still doing so. 'Erik' was here.

"Oh my Mavis in a pop top tin can! You are dating Cobra Dragao! He's the reason you turned down all those dates all these years and he's the one who put that idiot in the hospital because you two have been in love with each other since you were in the fourth grade!" There were screams all around and several girls dove for their phones. "I'm telling Mira!"

"Lucy, you can't be serious!"

"Isn't he a criminal?"

"Does Levy know?"

"How about Natsu?"

"More importantly, has anyone told Erza?"

 **XxXxXxXxX**

AN: dragão is actually the Portuguese word for dragon.

Till Tomorrow


	6. Day 5 Delirious

**CoLu Week Day 5: Delirious**

 **Delirious**

Synonyms: unhinged, maniacal, crazed, demented, hallucinatory, incoherent, bewildered, lightheaded, lunatic, out of one's mind.

Antonyms: rational, lucid, sane, collected, balanced, sound, reasonable, normal, unexcited, unhappy.

 **XxXxXxXxX**

"Does the poor grouchy dragon need a kitty to snuggle?" The blond was using that condescending tone people use on babies and puppies. He was neither.

"You know snakes eat cats when they get the chance." He grinned down at her and took a step closer, expecting her to back up again, like she always did when he got to close. She didn't this time.

"In that case I volunteer Happy as your snuggle kitty. He called me fat again this morning and deserves to be eaten. Start with his tail. He's very proud of it." He blinked at her. What? "And then his tongue so he can't do that 'you llliiiiike him' thing."

"You want me to eat your boyfriend's cat?" Her perfectly manicured finger was suddenly in his face. He snapped at it. He missed, which was sad because he was pretty sure she was delicious. Then she snapped her teeth at his _face_ and he was the one backing up this time. His inner dragon started up with a pleased growl.

"Natsu is not my boyfriend! You of all people should know that!" He felt like someone had flipped the lights on after he had been sitting in the dark for hours. He blinked at her again.

"I can hear you know. 'Fight, Fire, Food, Luce, Fairy Tail, Food, Fight, Luce, Food, Fire, Fairy Tail, Luce, Fight, Fire, Luce, Fairy Tail, Fight..." Her hand was over his mouth. He had to wonder what she would do if he licked her hand.

"You don't need magically enhanced hearing to hear that. Natsu isn't very complicated. What about me? What do you hear in my head, All Knowing Cyclops?" She pulled her hand away and for a moment he thought about catching it in his teeth.

"A symphony of chaos." She rolled her big brown eyes.

"What does that even mean?" He grinned and leaned into her space.

"Whatever I want it to mean, Starshine." The music that he constantly heard from her dropped, taking on a deeper, darker tone.

"What about what I want, Nightshade?" His dragon started strait up purring. He had no clue what was going on with her, but he really liked it.

"Well if I were you I'd think long and hard about what I wanted before I accidently got what I was asking for." She was sorely tempting his dragon to do something he couldn't take back.

"Oh? Know what I want do ya?" She leaned closer. At this point there were only inches between them. He was pretty sure she was insinuating something, but her scent was filling his head and making it hard to focus. It was always like this with her. Her music always called for his full attention and when he caught her scent it always made him a little dizzy. Like when he had one to many holly berries without using enough of his magic and the poison started going to his head.

"Trouble is what you are asking for. Whether it's what you actually want..." He let that silent threat hang in the air, expecting her to back down. Instead the music rose in what he could have only described as a victorious shout. There was a flash in her eyes, and before he could take those as the warning signs they were and fucking _run_ she lunged.

His inner dragon gave an ecstatic scream when her teeth latched onto the side of his neck, not hard enough to break the skin, or even hurt, but she was very much biting him. He had been fighting this for months. Listening to his dragon growl and keen, occasionally throwing huge ass tantrums inside his head. Much, much, much longer than months if he counted the pathetic whimpers and wails of despair that had echoed in his head since he first laid eyes on her and then promptly screwed the fuck out of his whole entire life, because he refused to accept what it was telling him.

The very tiny part of his brain that was still functioning on a human level was insisting that this was not really happening. Starshine would never stoop to bite him. Even if she did she wasn't a dragon slayer. She couldn't have any idea what she was doing, what she was saying to the dragon inside him. He was dreaming, or hallucinating, or... something.

She was purity and goodness and perfection. She would never lay claim to something like him. Especially in front of the entire guild, including the other dragon slayers who should know what kind of message she was sending to his inner dragon. Speaking of which... Why was nobody fucking doing something to bloody stop her?

The rest of him, meaning every single nerve in his body, the crippled muscle that struggled to pump the poisonous blood through his veins, his dark and bloodstained soul, and most especially his inner dragon, were screaming that they didn't give a shit what his brain said. Lucy Heartfilia, his Starshine, had bitten him, marked him, claimed him. His mate wanted him.

That tiny part of his brain didn't have what it took to stop him from slamming her against the wall, and when the shock caused her to lose her hold on his neck, latching onto her neck in turn, with just enough pressure that his sharp teeth drew a single drop of sweet blood that ran over his tongue. When her inner music changed to a happy hum backed by an excited trill and she didn't push him away a contented draconic purr escaped him. It was a growl really, but to anyone familiar with slayers it was the opposite of threatening.

He felt the smallest of shudders run through her. That tiny part of his brain was all but hysterical, afraid he had frightened or hurt her, but when his hands came to rest on her waist hers found their way to his hair and he heard her sigh happily. His brain quit fighting then, or maybe it passed out in shock, either way he couldn't hear it anymore. His purr grew louder.

An all but deafening crash drew enough of his attention from his mate that he heard the rest of the guild again. He didn't move but he did listen. Mira had passed out as soon as she realised the possible significance of their little exchange. Midnight had caught his girlfriend before she could hit the ground, but not the tray laden with dishes she had been carrying. Hence the crash.

To anyone else he was sure it was a silent as a grave, but he could hear the insanity that was happening inside the minds of their guildmates. Surprisingly the slayers all seemed pleased with him, or them, or whatever. Though he did catch a couple 'if you hurt her' type threats. They had known he was fighting the bond. To a slayer the signs were there. They understood what accepting the mate bond ment for both himself and Starshine. Lug Nut's little Bluebird was sickeningly smug. Apparently she considered the information she had shared with Starshine to be the catalyst that allowed his mate to, in her words, _finally get that stubborn bastard to accept her._

What really shocked him was what he heard from the rest of her team. _She was so bold. I'm proud of her. I wish I could find it in myself to be as bold with Jellal. We should celebrate Lucy's new happiness. With cake!_ From Snowcone, who knew he was probably listening, he heard a simple _About fucking time_.

From his own team, the members of what used to be Crime Sorciere who had joined Fairy Tail when they received their pardons after the war, he heard shock. Meredy was a gibbering mess even in her own mind. The only thing he heard from her that he could make out was the phrase _I ship it!_ which only made sense to him due to his exposure to the Cavity Queen and the She Demon. Jellal was starting a lot of questions and finishing none of them. _But... How... She... When... Did... Why... Wha..._ Midnight was the only person he had let himself talk to about Fairy Tail's celestial spirit wizard. He had never strait up admitted she was the only mate his dragon would ever pine for, (though he had told Kinana that he had ruined his chances at ever having one), but he had dropped hints. _I told you you should have talked to her._

The reactions from the rest of the guild were as varied as their magics. _What is going on? Wow. Should we separate them? Is Lucy trying to pick a fight with him or something? Did they just bite each other? What has gotten into Cobra? Is Lucy ok?_ Under all the overlapping noise Cobra could just barely hear Kinana's soft inner voice. _Lucy? Oh, Erik. Lucy is your mate? You must have thought she wouldn't accept you. I'm so happy for you, Erik._

Damn right. He had thought she would reject him outright. He had never directly attacked her, but he had absolutely tried to kill her friends. That was worse than trying to kill Starshine in her eyes. He had backed Midnight and done nothing to save her when she was being sacrificed to the stupid fish clock. That was betrayal no matter whose book you were looking at. He didn't want to let her go, but the guild was not really the best place for private conversations.

He kept his hands where they were, but released his hold on her neck. He gently ran his tongue over the tiny puncture wound one of his fangs had left. The tiny whine that escaped her sounded like a plea to him, or a prayer. He needed more. More of Starshine, more of her music. He very much needed to hear her to make that sound again, but not here.

"Cobra." Starshine breathed his name, barely speaking at all. "Now that I have your attention do you think we should continue this talk somewhere else?" He couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"You always had my attention, Starshine." He pulled back to look in her eyes. The crowd began to murmur behind him and he turned to glare at them. "All you shit fuckers can go back to minding your own fucking business."

He wrapped a hand around his mate's tiny wrist and gently pulled her out of the guild. Those idiots were going to talk about this anyway, but that didn't mean he wanted to hear it. He would take her to his place. It was far enough away and warded enough that he didn't have to hear. And Starshine would like the garden.

"Starshine, huh?"

"Does it bother you?"

"Of course not. It's beautiful. It's just that it's, well, nice. And you don't really do nice with anyone but Kinana."

"Have you not heard me call you that?"

"I've never heard you call me anything at all really. For a person who has always had your attention I've had surprisingly little interaction with you." He paused for a second to think of that before continuing on.

"Well, I have been actively avoiding you since before you even met me, so I guess that makes sense."

"What?" She stopped walking this time. He could hear the hurt in her voice. "Why?" He turned to her and let his fingers graze her cheek.

"I heard your soul singing. You were angry and afraid and it was still the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. My dragon flipped shit and I was to stupid and to full of myself to understand what it was trying to tell me. I chose to hear it as a warning."

"A warning? Of what? It's not like I could have hurt you." He laced his fingers through hers and tugged her forward again.

"I can't hear you, so you probably had a better chance than most of that group."

"But you just said you heard my soul singing..."

"Singing. With you I don't hear words. I hear music. I only hear words when you... think loudly."

"Oh... Oh! Things make so much more sense now..." Her voice trailed off into a mumble. He waited. She didn't start speaking again and he realised he was going to have to prompt her. That was really weird for him. With his magic he didn't have to ask questions. He heard everything.

"Like what?"

"Like, did you really think Natsu and I were a thing? I mean you can hear him, so you know he doesn't see me that way. Besides he has a mate out there somewhere and It's obviously not me because... It isn't me." That was interesting. She couldn't seem to say it aloud. She bit him, but she couldn't say the words.

They both knew the obvious reason Natsu's mate wasn't Lucy. She was _his._ A growl almost escaped his throat at the thought of someone else laying claim to his mate. The possessive aspect of the mating bond hadn't been so bad when he firmly believed she would never accept it. Now that he had felt her teeth against his neck his dragon was going nuts with the need to claim her.

"Just because you aren't his mate doesn't mean you couldn't be in love with him. That would explain why you put up with his shit for so long. I heard him, but telling myself you were happy with him made it... easier." Shit. He couldn't say it either. The fact that he said whatever the hell he wanted was part of who he was as much as his dragon magic was. When did he become such a pussy as to be afraid to say anything?

It probably started when he tried to kill Starshine's kin with her watching. He had spent the next seven years listening to his dragon cry and slowly going crazy over his denied mate and her supposed death at Acnologia's claws. The deafening screaming fit his dragon had thrown when he heard of her reappearance was what had prompted the Seis as a whole to escape prison. In a move that had proven his epic stupidity he had hidden the real reason for his distress and attempted to silence his dragon by allowing Midnight to destroy the woman he saw as the source of his distress. When the flying fish clock pulled her inside and her soul was lost to his hearing he had shattered inside. Only hearing Cubelios after so long missing his kin had kept him from descending into complete madness.

He had finally admitted to himself just what she was to him when he heard her music during the dragon incident in Crocus. Being honest with himself had helped the crazy a little, so had finding Kinana. He had managed to hold onto the tiny sliver of sanity he had left, long enough to get the rest of his family out of prison, just in time for Jailer Blueballs to pull them into the shit storm that was Tartaros. He had resented the hell out of that until he heard her music, screaming in defiance, on that gods forsaken cube of death. They hadn't been close enough to get real involved in the fighting, just the cleanup.

As soon as the dust cleared Fairy Tail had scattered. It had been shocking to everyone and had done more harm than good in his opinion. Even the members who chose to leave prior to the official disbandment and those who said nothing were screaming in agony inside. Some of them had good reasons for leaving even if they went about it the wrong way. Gray and Natsu were both dealing with dangerously unstable magic for example and Erza would have likely lopped someone's head off during a panic attack.

Starshine had been devastated, and his dragon had screamed and raged at him to go to her. His mate was in pain and the dragon thought his presence would help that? Hell to the fuck no. He wasn't quite crazy enough to believe she wanted his mentally unstable ass around. Besides he knew that even if she did he couldn't stay. That hadn't stopped him from stalking her whenever Crime Sorciere was anywhere close to Crocus though. Watching her sleep through her window and making sure news of her guildmates reached her. His dragon had won a series of small victories over his self control during that year in the single wildflower he left on her windowsill each time he came to town.

Then came the message in flame. He had been deep undercover at the time, but he had heard, and the knowledge that Starshine would be returned to her kin had soothed his dragon. The group of dark wizards he had been hiding amongst had trembled at the thought of Fairy Tail returning. There fear had been proven reasonable when Team Kaboom had annihilated Avatar. Then, strait on the heels of that news had come Jellal's call. Alvarez was coming, with Zeref himself at their head, and they were coming for his mate's guild.

Cobra had known she would be with her team where the fighting was thickest and his dragon had screamed to go to her. Instead he had stayed with his team and fought by their side. During the whole of his fight with August and after that Acnologia he had repeated the same thing to himself. He had to win, for Starshine. If he failed he knew good and well that she would come face to face with those monsters.

They won of course, because that's what Fairy Tail did, kicked asses that were impossible to kick. He and his kin had been on the right side of the fight this time, right along Starshine and her's, and it had soothed the dragon inside just a little. Then the bitch that was coincidence had dropped Natsu right fucking on top of his mate and his dragon had screamed in rage. He had been half dead at the time and it had still taken all he had not to attack the man who had just destroyed the two most powerful beings ever to exist.

It had only gotten progressively harder to stay away from her in months that followed. Crime Sorciere's actions in the war had seen them freed to go where they wished. While he had tried to use logic to follow Richard and Sawyer to Lamia Scale or even Angel to Sabertooth, he had ended up drawn to Fairy Tail. Not only was his mate there, but he also had kin in Kinana and Midnight. He had come to respect Meredy and even Jellal over the years as well.

It had been torture, being so close to Starshine and still holding himself back. That wasn't to say that he hadn't enjoyed his time here, because he had. Hell he had even found friends in Lug Nut, Pineapple, and by extension their teams, or in Lug Nut's case his woman and his strangely responsible cat. Now here he was, hand in hand with his mate, and if she was as willing as she seemed he could finally be whole. Fairy Tail could be his home, his family, just like it was hers. Unless this whole thing was a cruel dream.

He released his hold on her hand when they passed through the little wooden gate that led to his poison garden. He watched her wander among the flowers and bushes. He had guided his plants intentionally into an overgrown look that barely let you see the house behind them. She looked beautiful against that backdrop, like a forest spirit, a fairy.

"Wow. You grow these yourself? They are beautiful."

"Easiest way to get poison is to grow it myself. Bleach and shit will do in a pinch, but the natural stuff is better."

"It's impressive." Her eyes flashed like they had just before she had attacked him in the guild and her music deepened in a way that had his dragon wanting him to hit his knees and beg. He took a step away from her and she followed. She was fucking stalking him through his own damn garden. His dragon wanted to let her catch him, but he was more than a little worried about what he would do to her if she put her hands on him.

He had planned to sit and talk to his destined mate once they reached his garden. Maybe even apologize to her face finally for all the pain he had a part in visiting upon her and her kin. He couldn't fucking do that when she was looking at him like that. Like she wanted him to do everything to her he was imagining.

"You are looking at me like I'm edible, Nightshade." A growl escaped him. If he was looking at her like that it was only because she was. She took another step toward him. He placed a bush between them under the pretense of plucking an unripe ackee fruit from a small tree.

"You should know better than to tempt a dragon, Starshine. It might bite you." He tore off a chunk of the fruit with his fangs to emphasize his point.

"What if I want him to bite me?" His fruit got wedged in his throat. He managed to swallow it without choking. His dragon began to roar in his head. Demanding that he claim her, bite her, make her his. His body was wound tight with the need to do exactly that. She took a step to the right and so did he. She didn't stop. They were circling each other now, constantly in motion, weaving between the plants in his garden.

"You don't know what you are asking for." He was following her just as much as she was following him now.

"Trouble you said. I heard you. I'm a Fairy Tail wizard. Trouble is the air we breath." Her music was deep and rough now. It was pulling at him. "If I know I'm asking for trouble then don't you think it's what I want? You have a dragon's nose. Tell me. What does my body say I want?" He growled. He had smelled the arousal on her before, but now it was stronger than ever. She wanted him, and damn did he want her too, so much his hands were shaking.

"I can't promise I will be gentle." He really couldn't. Between the dragon screaming for her and the long years of waiting he was desperate. His restraint was non-existent, as he had already demonstrated at the guild. "I tasted your blood today." His dragon was screaming to sink it's fangs into her and swallow mouthfuls of the sweet red liquid, to taste her magic on his tongue as he set his mark into her skin and bound them together.

"I'm not a virgin and if I wanted gentle I'd be propositioning Eve Tillman, now wouldn't I?" In the blink of an eye he had slammed her against his front door and was growling against her throat.

"Mine!"

"Am I?" She sure didn't sound afraid. In fact it sounded as if she was taunting him. She must have been thinking specifically at him, or maybe it was being this close, because he could hear her now, loud and clear.

 _Come on, Cobra. Say it. Are you dragon enough to claim me or are those teeth just for show? How long has it been? Years I've been alone. Searching for someone to love me, someone I could love back. Thinking I was broken in the head every time I thought of you and wished. Needing you and waiting. Why the hell are you rejecting me? What is so wrong with me that you would rather be alone forever than let me love you? If Levy and Natsu are telling me the truth then why am I still alone?_

That shocked him right out of his lust induced mindless state. He felt like Blueballs had just Meteor punched him right in the gut. She thought _he_ was rejecting _her_? Why would anyone, crazy or sane, do that? She thought there was something wrong with _her_? She was _perfect_. Why would she think that?

A high pitched whine came from his throat. He had never made that sound before, but he had heard it. It was the sound his dragon made when Starshine had shed tears over Erza during Nirvana, when he let Midnight sacrifice her to the infinity clock. He had heard it when she cried over her future self's death while he fought that dragon, and many times while she mourned the loss of her guild and Aquarius.

His mate was hurting. He had hurt her. She had wished for him. She had longed for him and waited and he had denied her. He had left her alone and she had cried. Because of him.

The dragon inside him had known and tried to tell him. He had thought he knew better and had caused his mate pain. The dragon knew, even when he didn't, so he let the instinct that came with his magic guide him. He didn't give his inner dragon control very often, but today Starshine needed him to, because the dragon seemed to know what the fuck it was doing.

He continued to whine and keen as he ducked his head down to rub under her chin like a cat. Those were pleading noises. His dragon was begging for something, though his brain couldn't quite figure out what it was that he was wanting from her.

She tensed and an odd warble was added to his begging. His hands started running up and down her sides at the dragons prompting. He might have been trying to sooth or comfort her. He didn't fucking know though because he had never had reason to sooth anyone before ever in his damn life, and he was the opposite of a comfortable person.

He began to leave feathery kisses on her neck in between cat rubs with his head. They weren't sexual, which was the only kind of kiss he had ever thought about giving anyone. They reminded him of the tongue flicks his snake friends gave to show affection.

Suddenly it hit him. The thing his dragon was begging for was her forgiveness. He was trying to say sorry. For hurting her. For allowing others to hurt her. For leaving her alone. For letting her think she was anything less than everything he could ever dream of.

"I'm sorry, Starshine. That's not what I wanted you to think at all. I don't deserve you. No one does, but I really, really, really don't. By the time I knew what you were I had already hurt you so much. I just wanted you to be happy and I thought if I stayed away you could find that."

He mentally slapped at his dragon till it backed down so he was in control again. He picked his head up and looked into her big brown eyes, blown wide open in shock. That warbling keen escaped again before he could stop it.

"I'm crazy. You and I both know that, so don't try denying it. Hell the whole guild knows that, which is why they don't let me wander around unsupervised. They're afraid I will kill someone for wearing the wrong color of shirt that day or licking their ice cream wrong. I'm a bad person who has done terrible things." When she opened her beautiful face to spout whatever rainbows and puppy dog shit she had on tap today he clapped a hand over her mouth. He cradled the side of her face with his other hand and brushed his thumb back and forth over her cheek bone.

"I mean it. No excuses and no bullshit. Pretty much everything the guild suspects I might have done in the past I did, and in most cases worse. I still don't feel guilty about most of it, because I murdered my conscience in cold blood a long time ago. The threat of Jailor Blueballs Meteor punch and what _you_ would think is about the entirety of my moral compass now. I don't see how someone as pure and beautiful as you could _ever_ love something like me." He buried both his hands in her honey blond hair and dropped his forehead to hers.

"I've been a ripe twat about this whole thing and I _do_ feel bad about that. I never meant to hurt you." He figured it was about time he dragoned up and finally said what they were both thinking. "You are my mate. My one and only mate. I want you, and I need you, and everything else that implies. I know you want me. I can smell how horny you get around me, and I bet you're dripping wet right now just thinking about me touching you." He closed his eyes to focus on what he was trying to say. "The only thing I want more right now than to fuck you till you cum screaming my name and I can sink my fangs into your neck is to _not_ ruin your life by doing just that and bonding you to a piece of shit like me for all of eternity."

"Cobra." She had every right to be angry with him, but her voice was gentle. When he felt her fingers brush along his jaw he couldn't help himself. He leaned into her touch and purred. "Erik." His eyes popped open. He didn't use that name often. In fact only a handful of people had permission to call him that. To him using his real name was akin to laying claim to a piece of his soul. People using it without his permission tended to experience great amounts of pain and lose large amounts of blood.

She tipped her head to the side as if asking... What? What would she be asking? If she could use his name? She was his mate. As far as he was concerned she could do any damn thing she pleased and it was his job to kill anyone who tried to tell her otherwise. Now that he wasn't trying to kill her himself that is.

He purred a little louder and leaned harder into the delicate hand on his jaw. He would have smiled at her, but he only had two versions of 'smile'. The first was his usual don't-you-wish-you-knew-what-I-do smirk, and the second was a grin that pretty much said 'I'm going to tear your face off with my teeth and lick the blood off my lips afterward'. Neither of those really seemed appropriate for reassuring one's already emotionally strained mate-to-be. He seemed to get his point across, because she smiled softly at him.

"In case you haven't noticed we are Fairy Tail wizards. There isn't a single member of our guild whose screws are as tight as they should be up top. Just look at my team."

He had to give her that one. She-Thor's obsession with cake was extremely unhealthy, and not just physically. Gray walked around in his underwear all the time and didn't even notice. Natsu was literally a 400 year old demon locked in a dead kids body, even if he was alive and an adult now, sorta. Starshine was probably the craziest of them all. She was trying to get him to bind her soul to the blackened, twisted remnants of his after all.

"There is no going back from this. I fuck you, I bite you, and you are stuck with my psychotic ass for all of eternity. Our souls will be bound together, fused until we are almost a single person."

"Look at it this way, Nightshade." He let out a pleased rumble. He liked her new name for him. He felt like it held a piece of both of them. "If I am your mate," He growled and his body was on fire again. "What does that make you?" He pulled away to give himself a few more inches between himself and her big eyes.

"A demented dunce devoted to derision whose dimwittedness is only dwarfed by his deranged depravity and dogged determination to destroy himself?" His mate was an author with a creative mind, and he had spent years, years as in like a fucking decade, with a huge gaping hole inside him where she should have been. Not even he could blame him for flirting just a lIttle. Judging by the flash of heat In her eyes he had definately hit the right buttons.

"Mine." He shuddered. His dragon practically rolled over and played dead. The dragon would do anything to earn forgiveness for their betrayal of her. If Starshine wanted him, would be willing to claim him after everything, then he would too. "You are my mate." A begging keen escaped him. "Now you can either take us inside, or I can strip naked in your front yard, because I am done waiting."

He was very glad in this moment that he never bothered to lock his door, because he would have broken it down otherwise. Logical thought ceased to exist once the door closed. His dragon came unhinged with the knowledge that his mate was finally here, willingly, in his den. He could smell her arousal in the air and hear her music, deep and rich.

Then she drove the final nail into the coffin of his sanity. She started taking off her cloths. Before she got her shirt all the way over her head he was moving, and before it hit the floor he had her pinned to the wall. Finally he was able to run his fingers through her long golden hair. After so long, watching every word that came out of her mouth he could taste those perfect pink lips, and damn did she taste amazing.

He would have liked to savor this moment, but she wrapped her legs around him and rocked her hips, and fuck did that set off both him and his dragon. He had wanted her to damn long to pass up an invitation like that. He ran his hands down to those perfect tits of hers and gave a squeeze. He would have thought he was to rough accept her fingers tightened where they were buried in his hair and she arched her back.

He growled low in approval and sent his hands down further, smoothing over her warm, bare skin, feeling her ribs under his hands and the delightful dip of her tiny waist. He skimmed her hips, down to her powerful thighs to pull her away from the wall just enough to get his hands under that mini skirt and onto her ass. She groaned and he snarled in response, breaking off their kiss to lean down and bite right through her bra at its narrowest point between her breasts. She yanked him back up by his hair into a kiss that was almost violent. His dragon roared in approval and he rolled his hips to grind his erection against her.

He needed to get them into a bed and he needed to do it _now_. He pulled them away from the wall and she tightened her legs around him. He could feel her heat radiating through his pants. He ran into a couple walls on the way, but they made it to the bedroom. Right before he threw her onto his bed he twisted his hands around to tear the last of the clothing from her body.

He growled, taking in the sight of his mate. She was naked except for the purple heels she had worn today, likely just to tempt him, spread out in the middle of his bed. According to his dragon she was finally right where she belonged.

"Nightshade, you had better get naked right this instant or I'm going to get very upset very quickly." He let out a pleased rumble. His mate was no longer afraid to challenge him. "Don't make me get off this bed..." Or threaten him either apparently. He started stripping. No way in hell was he letting her out of that bed until they were fully mated and had both passed out from blind exhaustion at least twice over.

As soon as his clothes were off he threw himself on top of her. His hands mapping her curves. His mouth and fangs leaving little marks on her skin. She was his and no-one would ever doubt that again. Not him, not her, and definitely not any other male who lusted for his mate.

"Nightshade." He sucked at the side of her breast, leaving a small bruise, before running his tongue over her nipple. "Cobra!" He nipped at her hip, drawing a bead of bright red which he quickly lapped up with his tongue. "Erik!" He ran his tongue roughly up her slit and her legs jerked on either side of his head. "Cobra, please!" He sucked hard on her clit and she came, screaming his name, his real name. He had never heard a more beautiful sound.

Her back was still arched up off the bed when he wrapped his arms around her and slammed himself inside her. She screamed his name again. To lost to the dragon's need to do anything else he was thrusting inside her, hard and deep, repeating her name over and over like a prayer.

He heard her then, and it eased the panicking voice of logic in the back of his mind. _Erik! Please, Cobra, more! Yes! Fuck me! More! Mine!_ That last word held a decidedly dragonic growl to it.

They came together, with his fangs in her neck and her magic on his tongue. He collapsed on top of her, nuzzling at the darkening patch of purple scales on her neck and purring. She smelled like him now. His magic could never hurt her. Someday she would be the mother of his children. He purred louder.

"You sound happy." He pulled back to look into her eyes.

"I am."

"You are smiling." That surprised him.

"I am?"

"Yes silly. I like it. You have a sexy smile." He chuckled.

"Only for you, Starshine." He tipped his head to the side. "It doesn't hurt anymore. I didn't even realize it did until it didn't anymore." She smiled up at him and ran her fingers through his hair. "Lucy, are you happy with this?"

"Deliriously delighted my darling dragon." He rubbed his cheek against hers and purred.

XxXxXxXxX

Till Tomorrow


	7. Day 6 Pilot

This Chapter has been moved to the story _Daphne's Light._ Enjoy reading.


	8. Day 7 Staff

This Chapter has been moved to the story _Daphne's Light._ Enjoy reading.


	9. Bonus Day Dance

This Chapter has been moved to the story _Daphne's Light._ Enjoy reading.


End file.
